Having it All
by JediKnightCaraD
Summary: (Two weeks after 'Moebius') When SG-1, consisting of Daniel, Teal'c, and Sam, returns eight hours early, Jack knows something is wrong. He is proven right when Sam is badly wounded from an ambush. As she fights for her life, Jack is left to reconsider his position as Commanding Officer...and make a decision that will change them both his and Sam's lives forever. T for safety.
1. Chapter 1

The office was messy. The shred bin was full, the file cabinet open, and a black leather jacket draped carelessly over a chair against the far wall. A large pile of paperwork that was once neat and tidy had long ago gone askew and was slowly but surely migrating to the outer edges. A navy blue folder labeled 'classified' with a faded red stamp- identical to the rest but for the mission number beneath the SGC logo in the center label –hung precariously on the edge. The only things about the area that remained perfect were the American and Air Force flags standing straight and tall in the corner.

Normally the desk of a Brigadier General with over 30 years of service under his belt would be far neater, said General would be in his dress blues, and said General wouldn't be slouching. The station almost demanded it. But then, most Generals weren't Jack O'Neill.

Elbow on his desk and chin slowly sinking into his left palm, Jack nearly dozed off before shaking his head and sitting up a bit straighter. Looking again at the massive pile of mission reports to review and sign- mission reports that were nearly a week late –Jack put down his pen and rubbed his face with his hands.

_Paperwork. I hate paperwork._ "Urgh….bwah." He slid his hands off his face, leaned back in his chair, and stretched his arms to the ceiling before throwing his John Hancock on the tenth mission report, slapping the folder shut, and reaching for the next. When he moved it, something slid off his desk and hit the floor. Jack frowned and reached down to pick it up, expecting the mission report from P9X-whatever-it-was-called that SG17 had just turned in.

It wasn't a mission report. It was a standard sheet of notebook paper bearing his own handwriting. The paper had an old coffee stain and had been crumpled and uncrumpled at least twice. Upon turning it over Jack saw why.

It was his resignation papers…a rough draft, written long before the 'joke' resignation he had nearly given to Hammond. Jack flinched. He thought he'd thrown this away. Raising his eyebrows, he scanned the paper and saw a date in the upper right-hand corner; January 31, 2001. He gave a partially-amused smile and wracked his brain for something that had made him crazy enough to go so far as to actually start a third resignation; the first being after Charlie and the second typed up during the time loop fiasco. (the 'joke' one didn't count) January 2001…then a memory hit him…and he wished it hadn't.

January of 2001 had been when Carter had gotten possessed by the Entity…when he had come so close to losing her. While she recuperated, he'd sworn to himself that he would never let her go without telling her how he felt. In the months and years since, between Replicators, Goa'ulds, and various other events- not to mention her engagement to that Shanahan character -he had given up on and accepted the fact that a relationship with her was impossible.

Then she broke off the engagement. The 'relationship' he had been in with Kerry Johnson had gone south, and Kerry herself had made a startling suggestion; retire.  
That was probably why he'd thrown out the resignation paper. But why had he taken it out again? It was crazy. The beautiful blonde Lt. Colonel hadn't really shown much interest, and Jack figured any potential for being a couple was long gone.

Jack shook his head. No, hooking up with Carter wasn't an option. He liked being at the SGC. Giving a slight, sad smile, Jack took the paper in his hands to crumple it up again. He was planning on shooting it into the overflowing wastebasket.

Then the all-too familiar klaxon alarm, red lights, and the announcement of 'unscheduled offworld activation' blared through the base. Jack took a bad shot, missed, and grimaced. "D'oh." He strode out the door, wondering what was up this time.

Chief Master Sergeant Walter Harriman had seen quite a bit in his eight years in the Stargate program, but even after ten months it was still a little disorienting to see O'Neill in charge instead of Hammond. It was especially odd since O'Neill almost never got out of his BDU's and Hammond had always kept a clean, crisp, no-nonsense air about him, down to the ruler-straight medals on his pressed shirt, and cleanly-shaven head.

O'Neill popped up behind Walter. By now his mind was working overtime. "Who we got out there?"

"SG teams 11, 10, 4, and-" Walter was interrupted by the dial-up-esque tone of the IDC transmission. "Receiving IDC transmission!" He flinched. "It's….SG-1?"  
Jack frowned. "Didn't they just leave?"

Walter nodded. "Yes, sir. Twenty minutes ago."

The sick feeling he got when his friends were in trouble returned to Jack's stomach. He had long ago learned to trust his gut. "All right, they're in trouble. Open the iris."

"Yes, sir."

The large composite material slid open with a characteristic grind and the blue event horizon shimmered before them. After an agonizing ten seconds several staff blasts burst into the gate room, making everyone jump. Jack shielded his eyes. "Ahh! Geez!"

"Do you want to close the Iris, sir?" asked Walter.

"Give 'em a minute," urged Jack.

One more staff blast exploded against a wall before Daniel and Teal'c burst in. Sam was with them, but she was being carried in, her torso and left shoulder covered with blood. Daniel looked both angry and extremely worried as he and Teal'c laid her as gently as possible on the deck, clamping down on her profusely-bleeding wounds. "We need a medic!" he screamed.

Jack barely remembered hollering the order to close the iris and mashing the pickup to order a medical team to the gateroom before he was running as fast as he could up to his best friends and feeling his heart break. He was no doctor, but between special forces work and going through the Stargate, he knew serious injuries when he saw them.

Sam had large wounds, presumably from a staff weapon or two, on her side and left shoulder. They had been glancing blows, but even one wound from a staff weapon was bad. Blood loss wasn't the main concern due to cauterization, but the injuries were highly traumatic and prone to infection. Without prompt medical attention Sam could easily die.

Instinctively Jack looked her over. Her pulse was weak and so was her breathing. She was unconscious. Her arms trembled from the intense pain. He refocused his worry into anger and looked behind him. "Get those G-d- medics!"

As if on cue the medic team rushed in. Dr Brightman, temporary CMO after the death of Janet Frasier, took one look at Sam's wounds, grimaced in spite of herself, and wasted no time. "Get that bleeding under control! We have to get her stabilized."

Looking on, Jack grabbed Daniel rather roughly by the arm. "What the h- happened?" he barked. "This was s'posed to be a recon mission."

Daniel looked extremely frustrated. He closed his eyes and gestured wildly. "They came outta nowhere; couldn't even count 'em!"

Teal'c stared at them with intense eyes. "It was an ambush. Ba'al's forces."

"We barely had time to dial out. Sam got back to the gate first...and she got hit." The archeologist looked down in pain. Seeing his latex-gloved hands still red with Sam's blood, he grimaced and turned away, blinking hard.

Jack felt a pang of regret at speaking so harshly to his friend and nodded. Sometimes things like this just happened. But…not to Carter. The number of times she had gotten hurt while out in the field, he could count on one hand. "Right…well…just-"

Dr. Brightman and her fellow medics swarmed over Sam, pressing wads of gauze into the wounds, setting up IV's, and peering into the Colonel's eyes. Presently Brightman felt her pulse, frowned, and pulled out her stethoscope. "Pulse is weak. She's losing too much blood. Infirmary, now!" she ordered. The white-garbed medics quickly got Sam onto a stretcher and wheeled the injured Lt. Colonel away. Her companions looked on in concern.

Daniel batted away the hands of the medic that saw him stained with blood and craned his neck to see where Sam had gone. "I'm fine, just let me go..."

Jack looked anxiously down the hall, backing away as the stretcher rattled away to the Infirmary. "Daniel...Teal'c...you can give me the details later." And with that, feeling the inexorable pull on his heart toward Sam, he turned toward the infirmary. First he walked quickly….then he jogged…and then, breaking protocol completely, Jack O'Neill ran flat-out toward the SGC's infirmary.


	2. Chapter 2

The Infirmary was a beehive gone mad. Nurses, corpsmen, and orderlies scrambled about, following the orders of the white-garbed CMO. It was probably a good thing the Lieutenant Colonel was unconscious, because those wounds had to be horribly painful.

Dr. Evelyn Brightman's initial assessment of Carter was that she had sustained severe trauma to her abdomen. That staff blast had been much deeper than originally thought; they wouldn't know just how deep until the bleeding was under control and the mess of burned flesh identified. Brightman was most worried about the involvement of the lower digestive tract and, possibly, the femoral artery. The shoulder, comparatively speaking, wasn't too bad and barring infection should heal well given enough time.

Carter was first fitted with an endotracheal tube to help with her erratic breathing, and layer by layer the heavy military armor and then the clothing was cut off.  
Brightman hadn't known Carter for very long, but still felt a pang of sympathy in spite of herself. "Hang in there, Colonel," she said quietly.

Jack had given the corpsman at the infirmary entrance a very dirty look when he wasn't let in and the door slammed in his face. He was tempting to start swearing a blue streak, but soon realized it would do no good to shout when they were trying to help Sam. He threw his arms into the air and took to pacing in front of the door.

In a matter of seconds, Daniel- sans bloody gloves and vest -and Teal'c rounded the corner and skidded to a stop. Seeing that the door was shut, Daniel turned to Jack. "How's Sam?"

Jack scowled at the door. "I dunno. Got here they slammed the door in my face before I could ever ask." He wheeled around and walked the other way, then turned about again, pacing the hall with the stride of a nervous, angry bear.

After a few silent, agonizing minutes, the door to the infirmary opened. A bloodstained, worried Dr. Brightman stepped out. "General?"

All three men immediately raced over to the door. Jack, of course, got there first. "How's she doin'?" he asked quickly.

Dr. Brightman frowned and shook her head. "Not too good, I'm afraid. Colonel Carter sustained severe trauma to her lower abdomen. The damage to the abdominal wall and lower digestive tract is life-threatening. I need permission for immediate surgery."

Daniel closed his eyes and bowed his head, lifting his glasses to wipe his eyes and face. Teal'c stood there like a rock, growing more pale with each passing second.

Jack closed his eyes for a brief moment and sighed, then looked the doctor directly in the eye. "I'll make it easy on you. I'm _ordering_ you to do whatever you can to save Colonel Carter's life."

The doctor nodded. "Yes, sir. I will tell you, she's lost a lot of blood. Even with the surgery, she may not survive. You might want to notify her family." And with that, she disappeared back into the infirmary.

The three men stood silent and in shock for a full minute before anyone moved. Three times before Sam had come close to losing her life, and every time she had come out of it. That didn't make it any easier. Over the past eight years the team had literally been to hell and back together, binding them as tight as a family. Life without the smart, spunky Colonel was unthinkable.

"Jack?" said Daniel haltingly, regarding the brooding General. "Jack?"

Jack barely looked up at his friend.

"She'll make it. OK?" Daniel touched Jack's arm. He blinked back the moisture in his blue eyes. "She'll make it."

Jack's only reply was a slow nod. He let his arms drop before pacing the halls yet again.

The two hours that passed seemed like days. Daniel sat down in a chair outside and waited, almost praying to whoever listened that Sam would be all right. Teal'c stood guard, hands in a parade rest, looking every so often toward the door and blinking as if there was something in his eyes.

As for General O'Neill, he never stopped pacing. Left...right...left...right...the man moved with the air of one who couldn't sit still, for fear he'd implode or show what he was really feeling. He was afraid...and not just because Sam was the best officer he had...no, one of the best friends he had.

He loved her. He just couldn't tell anyone...not even Sam.

Time passed at a slow, torturous pace. Every second seemed like an hour, every minute like a day, every hour like a lifetime. At several points each of the men wished they could see Sam for just a minute and be reassured by her breathing or the steady beat of the heart monitor. Not knowing was almost worse than being there if she died.

Almost.

Watching Jack stride endlessly up and down the hallway was really getting to Daniel. He watched Jake turn around and walk to the left before letting out a heavy sigh. "You know, wearing a hole in the floor isn't going to help anything," he mumbled, holding the bridge of his nose.

Jack didn't even look at his friend. "I can't just sit." He reached his turnaround point and began walking to the right.

"Well, maybe you should," remarked Daniel thoughtfully. While he flinched at the look Jack gave him, he went on with another sigh. "Look, I know how worried you are about Sam...everybody is...but no matter how much we hate it, we can't-"

"Whaddya want me to do?" barked Jack, stopping midstride and wheeling around to glare at the bespectacled archeologist. "Just sit around and wait?" He pulled back and put his hands back on his hips, staring at the ceiling, before wheeling back around. "If I sit down, I'm gonna go crazy. If I'm moving...at least then I'm doin' somethin..." The silver-haired man resumed his pacing.

"OK." Daniel nodded slowly. He knew how Jack felt about Sam, and himself felt a little guilty at trying to rein in Jack's agitation. If moving made Jack feel better, than he should keep moving.

The slow, quiet sound of the infirmary door made all of them jump and look up. A very tired-looking Dr. Brightman emerged, still in surgical scrubs, and regarded the group. "General O'Neill?"

Jack had to rein in every muscle to keep from mowing the dark-haired CMO down and instead approached at a slow, serious walk.

"Colonel Carter survived the surgery. The damage was worse than I thought; ruptured bowel, torn abdominal wall, and damaged femoral artery. But the worse of the damage I was able to repair," explained the doctor.

"How's she doin'?" asked Jack, grimacing at the diagnosis.

"Still critical." Dr. Brightman sighed and shook her head. "She's lost a lot of blood and is still very weak. It's going to take too long for her blood to replenish on its own, so she'll need several transfusions."

"I'll do it," said Daniel quickly. Having been through thick and thin with the team, he knew Sam's blood type and it just happened to be the same as his; B negative.

Jack shifted his weight around unevenly. "Look...if it'd work, you know I'd do it..."

Brightman lifted her brows. "Actually, General, it would. You have type O blood, which is a universal donor as long as the RH factor is the same."

Jack straightened his spine. "You say when. We'll be ready."

Brightman nodded in appreciation. "Fifteen minutes. I'll see you both in the infirmary."


	3. Chapter 3

Even under the best of circumstances, Jack wasn't crazy about needles. But he would have given every drop of his blood and endured a thousand needles in his arm if it meant saving Carter. He knew Daniel and Teal'c would have given their lives for her, too. Teal'c couldn't donate blood because of Jaffa physiology, but he still kept vigil at the door.

The blood donations took a half hour to complete, but Jack didn't notice. He didn't feel the needle enter his vein, nor did he listen to the instructions not to lift anything heavy with the donating arm, drink plenty of fluids, and eat well for the next 24 hours. His eyes kept drifting to the curtain on the other side of the infirmary that hid Sam's bed.

It was only after the bandage had been secured on the crook of his elbow and Daniel had been banished to the commissary to bring his blood sugar back up that Jack was able to talk the doctor into letting him see Colonel Carter and hear the details about her condition.

The first thing that struck Jack upon seeing Sam was how pale she was. She almost matched the sheets. She was breathing on her own, but her respiration was weak enough that nose prongs brought additional oxygen to her lungs. Her left shoulder was heavily bandaged, as was her side. Four different needles with four different solutions- saline, antibiotics, painkillers, and the freshly donated blood- ran into the back of her hand and the vein of her right arm.

Dr. Brightman explained how the staff blast to Sam's middle had badly damaged both her colon and the left ovary. The first was repaired by cutting out the damaged section and sewing the other ends back together, while the second was simply removed. The burned femoral artery had been repaired in much the same way as the colon had. With the loss of blood and the high chance of infection, Sam only had about a 50/50 chance of surviving at that point. Even when she awoke, recovery for both abdomen and shoulder would take months. Even eating normally would be a challenge until the colon had healed.

"She's going to be asleep for a while," finished the doctor. "The pain of her injuries could send her back into shock, so I'm going to keep her sedated for the next three or four days, then- assuming she survives -slowly bringing her out of it."

General O'Neill all but parked himself by Carter's bed, staying put until Dr. Brightman had to order him to the commissary to eat something. Dazed, he walked out, green shirt in hand.

He arrived at the commissary to find Daniel just finishing up a bowl of peaches while Teal'c had his hands curled around a cup of tea. Both lifted their heads to see Jack entering and passing them without a word. He made straight for the dessert tray and grabbed the first thing he saw.

It wasn't until after he sat down that Jack realized he'd grabbed a bowl of blue jello. He frowned for a moment. _I hate jello. Why did I grab this?_

"How's Sam?" asked Daniel, swallowing the last peach and pushing the dish aside.

"Sleepin'," answered Jack, staring listlessly at the bowl of jiggly blue stuff. He knew exactly why he'd grabbed it, and the reason made him angry.

It reminded him of Sam.

"Well..." Daniel frowned impatiently at the lack of detail. "I mean is she any better, how long might she be asleep...?"

"Brightman sedated her. Said the burns might send her into shock again."

"How...how bad is she hurt?"

Jack scowled at the jello, then slammed down the spoon and pushed the dish away. "Hey, I don't know all those technical terms. All I know is my best officer is lying in the infirmary right now with a 50/50 chance of-" Jack stopped. He hadn't realized he was raising his voice until he noticed the wide-eyed glances from every other person in there. O'Neill let out a sigh and put his face in his hands, sliding down until his hands were covering his neck. "Let Brightman tell you," he muttered.

Daniel, who had begun to stare at his hands, looked up. "Will they let us see her?"

Jack nodded.

Daniel was unsure of what to say next, so he didn't say anything, but met Jack's eyes and tried to look encouraging before rising and leaving.

Teal'c rose from his place as well, but before leaving, rested one of his large, strong hands on Jack's shoulder. "Is there anything I can do for you, O'Neill?" he asked in his quiet bass.

Jack lifted his head for a minute to regard his tall friend, then looked away. "Go see Carter. She'd want you there."

Teal'c responded with a simple nod, eyes growing moist, before going to follow Daniel.

It wasn't long before the commissary began to empty out. The younger officers and enlisted skirted the General at a distance, while the older ones just stared at him sadly. When Jack was alone but for the kitchen staff, he stared at the jello. He could see Sam in his mind's eye, devouring a dish almost every day after lunch.

_"Carter, why do you keep eating that stuff?" asked Jack, regarding the bowl of blue._

_"I like it," she answered, spooning more into her mouth._

_"Why?" Jack eyed it suspiciously. He wasn't sure anything with a texture like the stuff left over from boiled chicken and loaded with such an unnatural color could even qualify as food._

_"It's good," laughed Sam. "Reminds me of when I was I kid." She pushed the dish toward him. "Here, try it."_

_"Nah...I'll pass," he answered with a suppressed shudder. With that, he picked up his empty plate and left._

__ The memory passed all too quickly. Jack would have given anything at that point to see Carter eating jello, to hear her laugh, to see her smile.

The General's stomach growled. With a sigh, he pulled the dish closer and picked up his spoon, putting a cube in his mouth. Jack grimaced, smiled, then swallowed quickly, staring at the dish again.

It was just like he'd expected; fruity, sweet, and wiggly, with the bitter aftertaste that could only come from too much dye.

In other words, it was terrible. The natural thing to do would be to push the bowl away.

Instead, Jack ate another spoonful. He hated jello, but loved Carter. As long as it made him think of her- awake, talking, smiling, and healing -he'd eat it.


	4. Chapter 4

Nancy Farrell, a nurse in the SGC infirmary, was busily checking Colonel Carter's I.V. levels when she noticed the sight twitch under her closed eyelids. The nurse raised her eyebrows in surprise, then turned to Dr. Brightman as she entered. "Dr. Brightman?"

Brightman put down the clipboard she had been reading and walked over, slightly worried that something was going wrong. "What is it, Farrell?"

Nancy motioned to the movement of Sam's eyes. "Is it normal for a patient to dream while under sedation?"

The doctor shrugged. "Sometimes. Have there been any changes?"

"No, ma'am."

"Well, then, let's hope Colonel Carter's dreams are pleasant." Brightman sighed, giving the slumbering patient the once-over with her eyes. Sam was going to need all the rest she could get.

_ They lay together, sharing body heat in a sleeping bag, trying to sleep despite the cold. Jack coughs and Sam lifts her head and stirs._

_"Captain...Captain," breathes Jack, barely speaking for the pain in his ribs and leg, "Much as I might...otherwise think this is nice..."_

_Sam flinches at what her superior officer is saying. What? He thought lying next to her was nice? Why? Of course what worries her most is not his feelings, but hers. She is far more worried about him than she thinks is allowed...and she hides her feelings by scolding. "Shh...try to sleep..."_

_Jack asks why Sam is lying there, and Sam explains that he passed out from exhaustion, and without combing body heat, they might not make it through the night.  
"It's fine...it's just...really hard to sleep...with broken ribs when someone's lying on you," he explains._

_Sam is aghast. She hasn't realized she's been using Jack's chest as a pillow. Quickly she moves her head. "Sorry...sir. Sorry, sorry."_

_Jack sighs in slight relief. "That's...it's...better...it's..." he can hardly speak._

_"I'll sleep for a few hours and then work on the DHD," says Sam._

_"OK. Night," whispers Jack._

_"Night." Sam settles back in. Were the circumstances different, she had to admit she would have enjoyed the closeness of them. But of course such a thing would never work...such feelings were very inappropriate. They must be stifled. Then she becomes aware of something poking her in the leg. Sam's level of alarm rises a little. "Um...Colonel...?"_

_"It's my side-arm. I swear," whispers Jack._

_It's such a ridiculous comment- and so 'Jack' -that Sam has to smile and laugh._

_Jack winces at the light shaking with Sam's laughter. "Ok, quiet...please," he begs._

_Sam moistens her lips, feeling more at ease even though the circumstances are no better. "Listen, if we don't make it...I won't have any regrets," she remarks earnestly. "You?"_

_Jack is still wincing. "I'll regret...dying..."_

_The comment gives Sam pause. She's not ready to go, she knows, and neither is Jack._

_If she can just keep him thinking like that, they might make it. From that point on, Sam decided it is her mission to keep Colonel O'Neill alive..._

Daniel and Teal'c were, to their relief, allowed to see Sam, though one at a time. Teal'c let Daniel sit with her first.

The archeologist settled into the bedside chair with a sigh, shifting about awkwardly. He'd never been very good at bedside conversation. Decoding an ancient language, explaining the history of Egypt, debating morality, or discovering a new civilization were his strengths. Talk about the gate-builders, and he wouldn't shut up. Talking otherwise...not much. Even around those he was close to, he wasn't much of a talker. Some called him shy and retiring. But what Daniel was, at heart, was a listener.

Lifting his head and seeing one of his best friends lying pale and weak in the infirmary made Daniel sigh. "Aw, Sam." He looked at his hands for a second. "Isn't it funny how...we always wait until the ones we care about are..." He looked away and sighed, a bitter smile crossing his face. "I don't know. I guess...what I wanted to say was...I never told you this, but, I always thought of you as...kinda like...a sister. You know, I never had any siblings, but you...you're like...one I never had."

Sam slept deeply, her chest rising and falling, her eyes still beneath the lids.

Daniel felt his eyes sting as he watched her. "You know how you never gave up on me...when I've been...like this?" Awkwardly he took her hand. "Well, I'm not giving up on you. None of us are. You have...so many people who care about you...and you are not done yet. You hear me? You're gonna be fine." He stared at her, as if willing the life to stay in her. "You're gonna be just...just fine." Daniel pressed his lips together and studied the floor. He didn't want to cry. Crying felt like giving up, and he couldn't give up.

Sam's fingers twitched. It was almost as if she'd squeezed Daniel's hand...just barely.

Daniel's head snapped up, looking eagerly for any sign of movement, of consciousness. Then he noticed Sam's eyes moving about beneath her lids. "Sam?"

Her fingers twitched again. She was dreaming.

Daniel sighed, remembering that Sam was sedated. She wasn't going to wake up for a while yet. "Hang in there, OK? It's going to be a while before you're up again...and it's not going to be easy...but we'll be there. All of us." The man gave Sam's hand a light squeeze.

Daniel sat with Sam until he heard Dr. Brightman come up from behind. At her approach, he lifted his head.

The doctor wore her usual, semi-emotionless expression. "Dr. Jackson? I'm sorry, but Colonel Carter's bandages have to be changed now. I'll have to ask you to leave."

Wanting to give Sam her privacy, Daniel nodded and jumped to his feet. "Oh. Right. Sorry." He turned toward the door, stopped midstride, and then pulled an about-face. "Uh, Teal'c...he's waiting outside, he'll want to uh...to see her...later..."

The doctor nodded, a slight smile coming to her face. The familial closeness of SG1 was legendary. "I'll let him know."

_ Sam had never been so discouraged in her life. After failing to make the Stargate work, she had followed Colonel O'Neill's final order and clawed her way to the top of the air shaft...only to find the planet enshrouded in miles of icy mountains._

_Her only wish now was to return to her CO. If she was going to die, she didn't want to die alone...nor should Colonel O'Neill have to._

_It had been a slow, painful trip back down through the air shaft. She paused just inside the cave to catch her breath and inform the Colonel of what she had found...Jack didn't respond. Sam feels fear rising in her. If Jack is dead already...she peers over the edge. "Colonel!" she calls. Still nothing. Desperate, Sam tries edging back into the slippery passage that leads back into the cavern, but loses her grip. Sliding, falling, and bouncing off the edges in a painful fall, she ends up right where she began...lying right next to the unconscious Colonel._

_Catching her breath, Sam lifts her head and sees Jack, who lies as if one dead. Not wanting to believe it, she inches back up to him. "Colonel..." Sam crawls on her side and puts her hand under the sleeping bag to see if Jack is still alive. He is...but only just. Sam settles back in next to him. "Colonel?"_

_Jack's lips barely move and his voice is hardly more than a whisper. "Sarah."_

_Sam wants to cry. He is calling out for his ex wife...whom he still must love. Sam lifts her head and knows what she must do...one last thing she can do for her CO. "I'm here, Jack." It's the first time she's used his first name._

_Jack mumbles about being cold. Sam agrees, and tell him he can sleep now. As Sam curls up next to him, she brings her head next to his ear. "It was an honor serving with you, too, Colonel."_

_They lie together in the ice, not knowing that rescue is less than an hour away..._

Dr. Brightman did not fail the notice Carter's eye movement as she slept and the bandages on her side and shoulder were changed. She found herself wondering if Sam was having the same dream as before. It was certainly unusual for a patient to be dreaming constantly while under sedation...but unless the Colonel grew distressed, the doctor would do nothing to curb the dreams. As a matter of fact Carter's pulse had evened out somewhat since the REM sleep had begun.

Perhaps the dreams were helping.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Oops! Obviously I need to do some editing when I have more time...in the meantime I'll try and keep the past tense for the actual story and the italicized present tense for memories.**

Teal'c shifted his weight in the stiff, straight-backed chair with a deep sigh. He had been sitting alone outside the infirmary without moving a muscle since Daniel had gone in to visit with the Colonel. When Daniel had emerged, Teal'c had expected to go right in, but then came the explanation that Sam's bandages were being changed.

And so, Teal'c had continued to wait. Presently he shifted his weight again. The hard seat was making his rear end sore. He could take it. He was a Jaffa, proud and strong warrior who had battled with his brothers and sisters to throw off the enslavement of the Goa'uld. He had endured the worst kind of torture imaginable. He had been shot, stabbed, electrocuted, burned, and to the very gates of death and back. Compared to all that, the sting of sitting too long in a metal chair was nothing.

At long last, the door to the Infirmary opened, and Dr. Brightman emerged. "Teal'c?"

The dark-skinned Jaffa rose to his feet, looking eagerly at the doctor. "What is Colonel Carter's condition?"

Brightman sighed and shrugged. "The same. But Dr. Jackson told me you'd want to see her."

Teal'c nodded. "Indeed."

Quietly Dr. Brightman stepped aside. "Come on in."

"Thank you, Dr. Brightman." Teal'c gave a quick bow of respect to Brightman before walking into the Infirmary. His long stride ate up the floor space between the entrance and the bed where Sam lay.

Trained as a warrior for most of his long life, Teal'c had seen more wounds than any other combat veteran on the planet. Gore and blood no longer bothered him in the way it once did...unless it was a friend that was wounded. Seeing Sam fall to the staff blasts had been like a knife through his heart. While Daniel had rendered what aid he could, Teal'c had let out a feral cry of rage and turned his staff weapon on the enemy, blasting away through a haze of sadness and anger.

While he had seen her wounds, it was still a jolt to see her lying unconscious and helpless, the clean white of her bandaged shoulder peeking through the neck of her hospital gown, her face drained of almost all color. Without a word Teal'c settled into the chair next to her. For a long while he was unsure of what to say. He had heard that a sedated person didn't hear what was spoken to them. It certainly hadn't stopped Daniel from speaking, nor had it prevented Teal'c from speaking to those who had been badly wounded in the past.

After a time, he looked at Sam's pale face. "Samantha Carter..." Teal'c sighed and hung his head. "I do not know whether you can hear my voice...but I shall trust that you do." The warrior once more lifted his head to regard the sleeping Colonel. "Many times have we fought together in battle. You are a formidable warrior, not only with weapons of the flesh but of the mind as well. You are strong and brave, and it is an honor to serve by your side."

Teal'c felt his eyes once again begin to sting, and he blinked at the very un-Jaffa-like moisture. "You should not have been wounded, Colonel Carter. If I could have taken a thousand wounds to prevent yours, I would have done so gladly. If I had been paying more attention...if I had gone to the gate in your stead..." Teal'c throat ached. It took a great effort to swallow the lump that rose there. "You are my friend, Samantha Carter. If there are gods...if there is any justice in this universe, then you must live. Your path is not yet completed, and your friends wish to continue the journey by your side."

Sam made no indications she had heard this heartfelt speech. All she did was slumber on under the effects of the sedative, healing in silence. Beneath her eyelids the unseen blue eyes began to twitch.

Teal'c took in a deep breath and let it out slowly before lightly resting a large hand on Sam's right forearm. "Rest well, Samantha Carter. We shall await your return."

Sam's brows knit for a moment, then relaxed. Her head dipped forward about a centimeter and she slept on.

If Teal'c had used his imagination, he might have thought Sam had nodded. Either way, he knew she understood how her friends felt.

_Sam crumples to her knees, the yellowish stream of energy boring into her mind from Hathor's hand device. The pain is excruciating._

_The red-haired Goa'uld smirks with satisfaction. "We had hopes for you." _

_Sam grunts and grimaces, just wishing it would all end. She wants to die._

_Suddenly Jack, awake from his cryogenic sleep, jumps behind Hathor with a growl and grabs her around the neck and wrist, making her lower her arm and stop using the hand device._

_Sam, more relieved at that point that the pain is gone, collapses to the floor._

_"We will destroy you for this!" seethes Hathor, struggling in Jack's grip._

_"And _we_...would just like _you_to go away!" yells Jack. He throws Hathor over the railing into the cryogenic solution, where she falls with a cry. He stares into the boiling pit for a while, still shivering with cold, before dropping to the floor and yanking Sam upright. "Carter!" The cry is one of desperate worry. He's half-frozen, but his first concern is Sam._

_Sam, recovering quickly from the effects of the hand device, looks at Jack with no shortage of surprise...and gratitude. He's saved her life. Again. "Sir," she gasps. "What happened?"_

_"Oh, God." Overwhelmed at the thought that Sam was, after all, alive, Jack pulls her into an embrace. _

_Sam, meanwhile, is filled with feelings she can't quite process, either. Jack is alive...he's himself...and freezing. She hold tight to his shoulders, hoping to warm him up. She hardly hears his brief explanation about Hathor. "What about you?" she asks, her voice close to breaking. He was so cold..._

_Jack said as much, adding with relief that the goa'uld was gone. "...I'm me...I'm me," he said, his tone reassuring._

_Sam continued to cling to him. The embrace was so tight it might have been one of passion instead of mutual relief and an exchange of body heat. She didn't want to let go. The Major went on to explain the situation with Colonel Makepeace. Only then did the Colonel and his subordinate part ways. Part of Sam was relieved...it had been rather awkward for them to be pressed so tightly together._

_But the other part held regret. She wished it wasn't inappropriate for them to embrace under better circumstances...she wished they didn't have to be Colonel and Major..._

Teal'c sat with Sam for nearly an hour, meditating and almost willing her to heal before Dr. Brightman came around the corner, clipboard in hand. She paused at the edge of the privacy curtain that had been erected on either side of Sam's bed.

"She appears to be dreaming," remarked Teal'c, somewhat confused.

Brightman nodded and finished rounding the corner. "Yes. She's been in and out of a state of REM sleep for hours now. As to why...I'm not exactly sure."

Teal'c turned to the doctor with concern. "It will not harm her?"

The doctor shook her head. "No. Unless she should become excessively agitated in a way that would negatively affect her vital signs, it's actually good for her. Her respiration and heart rate seems to improve in that state."

A slight smile brought the corners of Teal'c's mouth up. "Then we may continue to hope that her dreams are pleasant." His smile faded upon returning his gaze to Sam. "She will recover...will she not?"

Dr. Brightman sighed. "I can't say. It's still too early to tell. Assuming her vitals remain stable and she's strong enough to make it through the night, her chances will improve."

The lump of emotion returned to Teal'c's throat. The danger was not yet over. Sam could still die.

Such a thing did not even bear thinking about.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: SO many apologies for this taking so long! Thankfully the story itself is finished, so I'll be uploading the other chapters by the end of today. Thank you for your reviews!**

Jack sat slouched at his desk, picking listlessly at a spot where the walnut finish had been worn off. Supposedly, he was catching up on those backlogged mission reports. Supposedly, he had no more concern for Carter than for any other officer under his command. And supposedly, he would go home that night as usual.

There was a tap on the door, making Jack put pen to paper in an effort to look like he was doing something. "Yeah?"

Walter poked his bespectacled face into the room. "General O'Neill...?"

"Walter, come on in," invited Jack, slapping his signature on a mission report. He didn't realize until after that fact that he hadn't even read it.

"Sorry to disturb you, sir," began the shy Master Sergeant, "but weren't you scheduled to be off two hours ago?"

"...what?" Jack frowned and realized he'd neglected to check his watch ever since being essentially shooed out of the infirmary. "What time is it?" He asked, looking around with bleary eyes.

"Nearly twenty-hundred hours, sir."

"Oh." Jack tapped ineffectually at his digital watch. He didn't want to leave...he couldn't leave until Sam woke up...otherwise he might never see her again. His brown eyes darted from side to side. "Look, Walter...I'm kind of backed up here and I'd like to catch up." Another mission report was picked up. "I'm gonna be a while."

Walter's eyes widened for a moment and he opened his mouth in protest, but knew it was pointless to argue with Jack. You always lost. Besides, everyone knew how close SG-1 was. The Sergeant nodded in understanding. "Yes, sir." He knew darn well as he shut the door that not a single piece of paperwork would get done that night.

_The tension in the room is palpable as Colonel O'Neill sits in the chair of the Za'tarc detector. The stress is visible on the faces of all those present...Sam, Jack, and Dr. Frasier and Teal'c in the observation room. Only Anise is unreadable as she, once again, questions Jack about the mission regarding the armbands. Memories of the incident return, and Jack sits like one who was about to face a firing squad._

_"How were you feeling?" asks Anise._

_"Like someone who was about to die." Jack's answer is vague. _

_\  
Sam knows this, and glances at him again. She knows why he is leaving this out...but he can't. "Sir..."_

_There is a long silence as Jack considers this. "I didn't leave...because I'd have rather died myself...than lose Carter."_

_Sam closes her eyes for a minute. It's a hard thing to hear under the circumstances...but it's the truth._

_When Anise asks why, Jack continues with the tone of a man speaking words he loathes but knows have to be said. "Because I care about her...a *lot* more than I'm supposed to." _

_Sam meets his eyes, understanding exactly what he's saying. She cares, too, far more than a subordinate is supposed to care about their superior. More than friends...and yet you couldn't call it love. Love need to time to be nurtured, fed, grown over time...which they weren't allowed to do. Sam keeps her true emotions a secret, letting the smallest bit through her defenses._

_With the truth out, the indicators lower, and Anise announces that Colonel O'Neill is not a Za'tarc. Sam turns to her. "Now re-test me." She moves over to help the Colonel out of his restraints and switch places with him. Over the next few minutes she, too, is forced to admit her true feelings for the Colonel. Part of her feels relief at admitting the truth, while the stoic military side is embarrassed...embarrassed that they even had to go through this...that those feelings had never come into existence. Such thoughts don't last long, however, and soon Anise says that Sam is also not a Za'tarc. "Thank you."_

_Jack quickly rises to his feet to help Sam out of her restraints. Sam, still inwardly cringing, calls to him. "None of this has to leave this room," she says._

_Jack is uneasy and quiet. "We're OK with that?" He looks somewhat embarrassed, too._

_"Yes. sir." But a small part of her wishes that it didn't have to be a secret...that they could have a relationship...but it would never be..._

"Dr Brightman?" called nurse Farrell, checking the sleeping Lt. Colonel's vital signs again with a frown.

Brightman, while she was half asleep and on her third cup of coffee that evening, looked up from her desk with a sigh. "Yes?"

Farrell squinted at the monitors. "The Colonel's heart rate has dropped...down from 70 beats to per minute to 62."

Brightman rose to check the monitors herself. It was true. Upon starting REM sleep, Lt. Colonel Carter's heartrate had varied between about 84 and 74 beats per minute. Normally it would be lower during deep sleep, but her injuries had raised it. The doctor shrugged. "Hmm. Well, it's still in the normal range, given her injuries. Just keep an eye on her." She considered the possibility that the Colonel's dreams had something to do with it. As long as the Lt. Colonel was getting her rest, that was all that mattered.


	7. Chapter 7

_Knock-knock-knock!_

Jack flinched awake, his bleary brown eyes looking around in mild confusion. _Where am I?_

_Knock-knock-knock!_

Jack let out a colossal yawn and rose from his desk, stretching out the kinks in his sore arms in which he'd slept and pulling back his sleeve to stare at his watch_. It's too early...what time is it?_ It was 7:14; a full fourteen minutes after he normally checked in at the front gate. Since he'd slept in his office all night, such a thing wasn't to be worried about. The General blinked hard and wondered who would be knocking on his door at a time when, on any other day, he'd have barely gotten into the complex. "Yeah? Door's open," he croaked. Jack checked his coffee cup and frowned upon finding it empty.

An equally-tired looking Dr. Brightman was standing at the door. She flinched upon seeing the state that the General was in and hesitated. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."

Jack's eyes opened a bit wider and he found himself standing, eager to hear any news about Carter. "No, no. Come in. How's Carter?"

The Dr. shrugged and tried to smile. "Well, she's made it through the night and there are no signs of infection."

Jack nodded, silently thanking whoever or whatever was in charge of the universe. "Good. When's she gonna wake up, you think?"

"I'll give her another day. If she continues to do well, I'll start weaning her off of the sedative the day after tomorrow," answered Dr. Brightman.

"'Kay..." _I want to see her_, urged his emotions. _Don't push,_ argued his common sense. With nothing else to say, he lifted his eyebrows and shrugged. "Anything else?"

"No, sir...just that whenever anyone wants to see her, they're more than welcome to."

Jack visibly relaxed after that. If he'd had a choice he would have run down there at that very moment to see her. He stared at his desk and nodded. "Thanks. I'll...tell Daniel and Teal'c."

Brightman nodded and pulled the door shut. "You're welcome, sir." And the doctor was gone.

Jack sighed in momentary relief, though he knew he wasn't going to feel normal until Sam was awake. Absently he picked up his coffee cup and drank from it...only to be reminded of how empty it was. Mumbling to himself, the half-asleep Jack shuffled out of his office and wandered down the hall to the commissary to find something with as much caffeine as possible.

On the way out he noticed that his laptop was still running. Upon reaching over to turn it off, he noticed what he'd been working on all night.

His formal resignation. There it was, all typed up in the official manner, ready to print out. Jack frowned at the screen for a moment before closing the document. The computer asked if he wanted to save his work. _Do I?_ he wondered. _Do I really want to do this?_ The cursor moved from 'yes' to 'no' a half dozen times before Jack groaned and centered the cursor over 'cancel' to leave the document open.

_Coffee first. Computer later_. The laptop was closed.

Neither Teal'c nor Daniel had left the base that evening. Neither of them had gotten much sleep. Both were surprised to see Jack wandering into the commissary with a very tousled appearance, as if he'd slept in his clothes. He carried an empty coffee cup and made straight for fresh pot of morning coffee against the far wall.

Daniel, who had been squinting at his plate of untouched waffles, sat up a little straighter upon seeing the General. "Jack!"

Jack barely glanced up as he took a large swallow of coffee, wincing at how hot it was. Making a face, he shuffled over to the table with Daniel and Teal'c, staring into the mug of dark brown liquid. He took the pot with him and set it on the table.

Daniel sighed at seeing how tired his friend looked. "Did you sleep at all?"

Jack shrugged, sipping his coffee. "Did you?"

Daniel sighed and set his fork back on his plate without taking a bite and rubbed his face. "Not really...kept waking up...and I can't seem to find my glasses."

"They are on your head, Daniel Jackson," stated Teal'c without looking up from his fruit and toast.

Daniel frowned, looked skyward, and pulled the wire-rimmed spectacles back down over his eyes. "Thanks."

Teal'c nodded. "You are welcome." He speared half a strawberry.

Daniel stared at the yet-uneaten bite of waffle on his fork, twirling it around in a slow circle. "Hear anything from Dr. Brightman yet?"

"Yeah." Jack set down his now half-full cup of coffee. He lifted his head to look at each of them in turn. "Carter made it through the night. Doc says her chances are better now."

Daniel's shoulders went limp with relief and he sighed, closing his eyes and leaning against the back of his chair. "Well, that's good."

Teal'c face showed the slightest hint of a smile. "I have no doubts that Colonel Carter will make a full recovery."

Daniel shrugged. "Well...me neither, but...it's still nice to hear." He gave a slight smile.

Teal'c gave a single nod before eating another piece of fruit.

Suddenly Daniel had regained his appetite and finally ate the forkful of waffle, cutting up more as he chewed.

Jack stared into his cup and finished it off before pouring himself another. His own stomach was growling, but he paid no attention to it. What he did pay attention to was a massive headache beginning to form between his eyes. He grimaced and closed his eyes, rubbing his head.

Daniel stopped mid-chew. "Jack?"

Jack opened bleary, pain-filled eyes. "Yeah...?"

"You okay?"

"Fine."

Daniel frowned, eyes darting back and forth. "You sure? You don't look so good."

Jack nodded, still rubbing his head. "Headache...coffee hasn't kicked in yet." He took another sip to illustrate his point. While the caffeine succeeded in dilating his blood vessels, the pain was no better. A sharp throb at the sides of his head just above his ears made him wince and close his eyes, holding his head in his hands. _Geez...where did this monster come from?_

Teal'c frowned and pushed his empty fruit bowl aside. "You do not appear well, O'Neill. Perhaps you should go to the Infirmary."

Jack shook his aching head, waving off the concern of the Jaffa. "I'm all right."

Daniel pursed his lips. He didn't believe his friend for a minute. "Jack-"

"No! Daniel..." Jack's head snapped up and he glared at the archeologist for a minute. Realizing Daniel was just worried about him, the General sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. "It's nothing. It'll go away in a minute."

"OK..." Daniel nodded and went back to his waffles. One did not push Jack. He'd push back 100 times harder.

Jack looked at his watch and shook his head. It was nearly 8:00. He was scheduled to give a mission briefing in fifteen minutes. He rose from his seat, still carrying his coffee cup. "I gotta get outta here. SG-5's got a briefing..." Upon getting to his feet Jack was overcome by a sudden wave of dizziness. He wavered on his feet for a minute before forcing himself to go forward.

It was odd that the coffee didn't seem to be doing anything. Usually by his second cup he was wide awake. This time he felt like passing out. Jack shook off the feeling, making for the briefing room.

Five minutes later Daniel and Teal'c heard the muffled crash of breaking ceramic and then a thud down the hallway...then an airman was making an exclamation. The only word Daniel and Teal'c caught was 'General'.

That was enough for them. Both men jumped to their feet and ran out into the hall. Just around the corner on the right side lay Jack, completely motionless, coffee cup shattered at his feet.

Daniel felt as if the world had shattered with the cup. "Jack!" He ran up to the apparently lifeless man, wondering what was wrong and what he could do to help. "What happened?" he barked at a couple of young, wide-eyed airmen.

The younger of the two, a blonde female with her hair done in a short braid, shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. He just collapsed. Gavin just went for a medic," she added.

_First Sam, now Jack?_ Daniel didn't know if he could handle it. He reached for Jack's shoulder. "Jack...Jack," he said urgently.

Jack stirred, opening his eyes and groaning. "What happened?" he mumbled.


	8. Chapter 8

Dr. Brightman had never been so aggravated with a superior officer in her life. She was shaking her head in annoyance as she walked up to the convalescing General, Nurse Dean bandaging a second-degree burn on his shin from the dropped coffee cup. The doctor snapped his file shut. "Well, General, you'll be pleased to hear there's nothing wrong with your head. When was the last time you ate?"

Jack frowned in confusion. "What's that got to do with it?"

Brightman pursed her lips. "You're suffering from low blood sugar, General...probably caused by not eating enough after your blood donation yesterday. Now what was the last thing you ate?"

Jack closed his eyes and held the bridge of his nose, trying to think. "Uh...I dunno...jello...?"

Daniel, who with Teal'c was looking over the proceedings, uncrossed his arms in disbelief. "Uh... Pardon me. As in the jello you ate yesterday afternoon...about two o'clock?"

Jack said nothing, but his guilty look was enough.

Dr. Brightman groaned and shook her head. "That was eighteen hours ago. No wonder you passed out. I told you to eat well after the blood donation...even if you hadn't donated, you'd still need to eat something more substantial in that time." She looked up at the nurse, who had finished bandaging Jack's leg and re-entered the room with a full breakfast tray. The plate of eggs, toast, orange juice, and milk was set down on Jack's bedside table. "Eat. Now."

Jack sighed, staring at the unappetizing hospital food.

Brightman raised her eyebrows. "Don't forget, sir, I can relieve you of duty on a medical basis. Don't think I won't."

Like a scolded child, Jack meekly inched into a more upright position and picked up the fork. A large mouthful of scrambled eggs went into his mouth. The taste wasn't so good, but he swallowed anyway.

The doctor nodded in appreciation. "That's better. I'll be back in a half hour. That tray had better be empty by then. You're not getting out of here until it is." And with that, she turned on her heel and walked away.

Satisfied that Jack was all right, Teal'c nodded and left. Daniel stayed behind to sigh heavily and perch on the footboard of Jack's bed. He watched Jack gobble down the hospital food with a heavy heart. "Jack..."

Jack glanced at Daniel through his eggs.

"Jack, I know you're worried about Sam." Daniel looked down at his crossed arms for a minute. "I know you don't want to do anything else until you know she'll be OK. But you're not going to do her any good by not taking care of yourself."

Jack looked up as he swallowed his food. "You wanna chew me out, go ahead. But trust me..this hospital food is punishment enough." He made a face.

Daniel cracked a smile. Even a hint of the old Jack was better than nothing. "Serves you right." He glanced over at the curtained area where Sam slept for a moment. "I'm gonna go check on Sam. Eat up."

_Trapped...trapped within a computer mainframe. It is an odd, unsettling sensation. Sam knows what is happening around her, and yet she can't hear, see, taste, smell, or touch anything. It is incredibly frustrating._

_The computers are going to be blown up...they think she is the Entity. Sam panics and does the only thing she knows to do. Speak. _

_'I am here' reads the computer monitor. _

_Daniel is the first to catch on...but Jack doesn't believe him!_

_'I am here...I am here...I am here...'_

A faint beeping noise reached Daniel's ears as he sat by Sam. His head snapped up to regard the heart monitor screen...and he felt his own heart drop.

Sam's heart rate had dropped to only 45 beats per minute...and it was still dropping. Red text on the screen flashed 'critical'.

_ No!_ Daniel leapt to his feet, looking around for a nurse...an orderly...anyone. Upon seeing Lt. Evans, a blonde nurse, he frantically waved her over. "Where's Dr. Brightman?"

Lt. Evans' eyes widened and she motioned out the door. "She...just went to her office-" The nurse noticed the monitor and jogged over to double-check Sam's pulse manually. Another glance at the monitor showed the heart drop continue to drop. 42 beats per minute... 41...40...She sighed and quickly reached for phone, pushing the extension for Brightman's office. After a pause she spoke. "Dr. Brightman? Lt. Evans. Colonel Carter's heartrate is dropping again. It's at 39 beats per minute...understood." The phone was replaced on the hook. "She'll be down in a minute."

Daniel stared at Sam, brows knitting. _Sam doesn't have a minute._

Hearing the commotion, Jack had forgotten the rest of his breakfast and discarded the finger clip. He was at Sam's side in less than five seconds, limping only slightly. "What happened?" he demanded.

"Sam's heart rate's been dropping," sighed Daniel.

"Where's the God-da-"

Dr. Brightman rushed in. Her office was just upstairs as she appeared in the doorway and swung her stethoscope off her shoulders. "What have we got?" The bell was pressed to Lt. Colonel Carter's chest.

The nurse sighed. "31 beats per minute and dropping."

Suddenly an ominous, sustained beep filled the room. Sam was flatlining.

Brightman sighed and put the stethoscope back over her neck. "She's in cardiac arrest. Charge paddles to 100!"

As the horrified Daniel and Jack watched, the defibrillator was rolled over and flipped on. Sam's chest was partially bared and a pair of gel packs were placed near her heart.

Dr. Brightman held the paddles over the gel packs. "Clear!" The paddles went down, and the shock was administered.

Sam's limp body jolted at the shock. Thankfully, the steady beep of the heart monitor returned.

Brightman, somewhat surprised, put the paddles back in their charging station and listened to the Lt. Colonel's heart again. "We got her back..." She turned toward the heart monitor screen. The numbers were climbing. 30...39...47...52...and finally steadying at 68 beats per minute. Brightman sighed in relief and put up her stethoscope once again. "Heart rate normal." That was close.

Jack and Daniel seemed to sag with relief upon hearing those words. Daniel took off his glasses for a minute to blink hard while Jack looked from Sam to the doctor. "OK...what just happened?"

"I don't know, sir," admitted Dr Brightman, shaking her head. "It seemed to be spontaneous. One minute she was here, the next..." Her dark, thin brows furrowed. "Evans, was she in REM sleep when this happened?"

Lt. Evans shook her head, frowning. "I'm not sure-"

"Yes," Daniel broke in, making everyone look up. "She was dreaming...at least I think she was. Her eyes were moving."

"What's that got to do with it?" Jack wanted to know.

"Colonel Carter's heart rate has changed every time she's entered REM sleep. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower, but always a distinct change. Apparently her dreams are vivid enough that they're affecting her vital signs," explained the doctor.

"Can you stop the dreams?"

"Not while she's sedated. I didn't think she would even enter REM sleep while under sedation, but apparently I was wrong. Either way, whatever she's dreaming of clearly isn't good for her."

Jack chewed his lip, feeling helpless. "Can you do anything for her?"

Dr. Brightman sighed, nodding reluctantly. "It's sooner than I would have liked, but for the Colonel's own safety, I'm going to take her off the sedative."

Daniel grimaced, knowing what that would mean. Sam was going to wake up...and when she did, she was going to be in a lot of pain. He glanced at Jack to see his reaction.

Jack stood like a statue, staring at Sam's sleeping form with worry...and fear. _I almost lost her...again..._He closed his eyes and sighed. _That's it. I'm gonna do it._ He lifted his head to look at the doctor. "Doc...you said I could go as soon as my tray was empty?"

While confused at the timing of this question, Brightman nodded. "Yes, sir."

That was enough for Jack. He marched over to his tray, took the last piece of toast into his mouth, and drained the rest of the orange juice. "Done." And with that he made his way out, still limping a little.

Daniel's mouth dropped open in shock. _How could he just leave? Doesn't he care? _Quickly Daniel jogged after his friend. "Jack!"

Jack didn't stop. "Not now, Daniel."

Daniel wouldn't be shrugged off. Not this time. He broke into a run and stopped in front of Jack, barring his way. "Yes. Yes, now. Sam almost dies, and you practically run to her. She comes back and you leave. What's going on?"

Jack blew out a hard breath through his nose. He couldn't admit it. Not even to Daniel. "I got work to do." He moved to step around Daniel.

Daniel wouldn't move. "That's never stopped you before. Jack, I thought you cared about Sam-"

"I _do_ care!" snarled Jack in a whisper, pointing his finger in Daniel's face. "I care too much! That's the problem. That's why I can't..." He stopped, his eyes stinging, and took a step back.

"Do you love her?" While the thought had crossed Daniel's mind before, he had never asked. He'd figured it was none of his business.

A storm of emotion passed over Jack's face. For a moment it looked as though he might cry. Then he looked angry. Then he hung his head and looked away.

For Daniel the silence was enough. Somehow he wasn't surprised. His anger on behalf of his friend began to fade into understanding. Now it all made sense...all the times Jack has risked it all just to save Sam...why he got so quiet and couldn't focus on anything when she was hurt...all those looks they thought no one else had noticed. Daniel sighed. "Have you told her?" he asked in a near whisper.

Jack looked up incredulously. "You know why I can't."

Daniel stared at the floor for a minute. His mouth twitched with a half-forgotten memory that was filled with anguish. "You know...before Sha're died, I never got a chance to tell her I loved her. I'd told her after...after she was gone, but..." He shrugged. "That doesn't keep it from haunting me." His blue eyes grew moist and he looked away for a minute.

Jack shook his head. "It's not the same."

Daniel looked up. "Tell her, Jack. If you don't, you're going to regret it the rest of your life."

Jack closed his eyes and let out a shuddering breath full of mental pain. Daniel was right. He had to tell Sam how he felt...and soon, in case he never got another chance.

_Not yet,_ he amended. He didn't look up before pushing past Daniel without answering.

"Jack, where are you going?"

"There's something I have to do."


	9. Chapter 9

The Infirmary had never been so quiet. The nature of wormhole travel and even daily life on a military base meant that at any given time, there was always someone being treated for a burn, a sprain, a broken bone, or even something as simple as the common cold.

But not now. For nearly twenty-four hours, Dr. Brightman had not had any new patients. As such she could devote all of her time to one of the few cases that had he truly baffled.

Lt. Colonel Carter had been taken off of the sedative a full eighteen hours ago, but it did not seem to have any effect. Not only had she not awakened, she was still caught in a near-constant state of REM sleep. It just didn't add up. Given the pain of her injuries, the Colonel should have at least stirred by then. She had not.

The only conclusion that Dr. Brightman could come to was that Samantha Carter was in a coma...but why would she still be dreaming? What was she dreaming of? Why did it affect her so deeply? The doctor had no answers. All she could do was continue to monitor Carter's condition for any changes.

Looking down at Sam from her clipboard told Dr. Brightman that the injured Lt. Colonel was dreaming once again. A glance at the heart monitor brought a sigh of relief. 62 BPM. _At least it's holding steady._

And Sam lay there, her eyes darting rapidly about beneath her still-closed eyelids, her facial expression still unchanged...

_"Jack?" asks the wounded Air Force Major as she awakens. Everything hurts...especially her head._

_The man in question's eyebrows shoot up. "Excuse me?"_

_Sam, realizing where she is, closes her eyes. "Sorry, Sir." She wants to call him Jack...she wants to be with him...but she can't._

_Jack rises. "Yes, well...a massive concussion will tend to disorient one." He reaches her bedside and stands with his hands in his pockets.  
Sam asks about the length of time she was gone, marveling that it was only four days. Jack passes along greetings from Teal'c and Daniel, then mentions a little celebration when she's feeling better._

_"There's talk of cake," he finishes. _

_"A cake?" Sam smiles._

_"My idea." Jack beams._

_"Can't wait." They exchange further smiles. The silence is broken by Jack._

_He shrugs. "Need anything? Magazine? Yo-yo?"_

_Sam smiles again, briefly. Yes, she thinks, I need you...but the thought is discarded. "I'm fine, sir."_

_Jack nods in agreement...relief, perhaps. "Yes. You are." He moves to leave but is stopped by her voice, telling him thank you. "For what?" he asks._

_Sam hesitates, then shakes her head. "Nothing."_

_Jack, while somewhat confused, manages to turn it into another joke. "Think nothing of it. I've got plenty of that." he gives one last smile before heading out the door._

_Sam is left alone, and her smile fades... _

Page by page, the newly-finished document printed while Jack looked on, coffee cup in hand. He hardly noticed the taste anymore. He'd been drinking the stuff all night, leaving his office only to use the bathroom. Walter and Sgt. Siler traded off on who brought him updates, food, and more coffee. Briefings had been cancelled until further notice. SG teams 11, 10, 4, and 5 had all returned without incident and were still waiting to turn in their mission reports.

Jack had not been entirely truthful when he'd stated the reason for staying in his office was to catch up on the backlog of mission reports. True, 80% of them had now been scanned and signed, but the bulk of his time had been taken up in putting the finishing touches on the document now being spat out of his printer...his formal resignation. He'd been going back and forth on the matter for hours. The news that Carter was in a coma cemented his decision.

Whether he would actually turn the thing in was an entirely different matter.

The printer in question suddenly stopped what it was doing and let out an angry buzz, the paper wrinkling. Paper jam.

Jack swore and turned the machine off before opening the top and yanking out the unfinished page. It had printed only halfway before getting stuck. Text was marred by a large ink stain. _Piece of junk._ Jack crumpled the paper in his hands and tossed it into the wastebasket in the corner. He squinted into the machine and wondered what had gone wrong...and how to fix it as soon as possible.

The characteristic three-note tap of Master Sergeant Harriman sounded at the door. Now used to coming in without permission, Walter poked his head around the corner. "General O'Neill?"

"What, Walter?" Jack took a sip of coffee, made a face, and set the cup down.

"Here's the mission reports from SG 4, 5, 10, and 11." Walter brought in another stack of blue folders. "And sir, SG teams 3, 9, and 16 are due for their briefings."

Jack frowned and rubbed his temples. As worried as he was about Sam, he couldn't put off his duties indefinitely. Too many peoples' lives depended on him. "Right. Yeah. What time?"

Walter flinched. "You haven't put it on your schedule yet, sir."

_I really have been out of it..._Jack sighed and squinted at his watch. It kept going out of focus. "What time is it?"

"Eleven twenty-five, sir," answered Walter promptly.

"All right. Get SG 3 up to the briefing room in fifteen minutes. I'll see SG 9 after lunch."

"Very good, sir. And SG 16?"

"Um..." Jack closed his eyes, trying to think of how long the typical briefing took. He knew he could eat lunch in fifteen minutes. "Thirteen...thirty...?"

Walter checked his clipboard and frowned. "Uh...you have that presentation with Dr. Lee on the new energy weapon at thirteen-thirty hours."

Jack frowned. _I don't have time to look at his toys._ Besides, without Carter to rein him in, Dr. Lee could easily get carried away in his enthusiasm. "Cancel it."

Walter frowned. "Sir...?"

The General turned to glare at the bespectacled man. "I said cancel it, Walter! That's an order!" His temper faded at the startled, somewhat frightened look on the Master Sergeant's face. _Poor Walter. He's trying. "_Look...just...get SG 3 up here, will you?"

Walter nodded. "Yes, sir."

"And get somebody up here to fix this printer...on second thought, just put in an order for a new one. Thing keeps jamming."

"Right away, sir."

"Dismissed."

"Yes, sir." Walter turned to go, then hesitated at the door. "Permission to speak freely, sir?"

Jack raised his eyebrows at the odd request. Walter never asked for such a thing. "Sure."

Walter held his clipboard in his hands and sighed. "Maybe you should go home, sir. You've been here for almost seventy hours and have hardly slept. Are you all right?"

For as strict and by-the-book as Walter seemed to be, he did care. As a matter of fact, his heart was downright soft at times, especially toward SG-1. Jack sighed heavily and nodded. "Yeah...I'm OK. Go on."

Walter offered a small, encouraging smile before making his way back out of the office.

Jack was about to flip open the top mission report when he noticed Dr. Brightman standing in the half-open doorway, fist poised to knock. Eager for any news on Sam, he snapped the mission report shut. "Doc! C'mon in. Any change?"

Dr. Brightman entered with a sigh and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. However, Colonel Carter's wounds are healing and her vitals have remained steady. She's not dreaming...at least not for the moment."

_C'mon, Sam. Snap out of it._ Jack nodded, feeling the small bit of hope that had risen fade. "Well...that's good news, right?"

The doctor nodded in return. "Yes."

Jack picked up one of his pens and played with it, pushing the button in and out and twirling it about in his fingers. It gave his restless hands something to do. "You figured out why she keeps dreaming?"

Brightman shrugged. "No. There's no logical reason for it, and frankly I'm a little worried. The mind needs rest as much as the body does, and with as active as her mind is while dreaming..."

Jack glanced at the doctor. He knew how tired and frustrated she was with the situation as admired her determination not to give up. "You'll figure it out. Just don't forget to get some rest yourself, OK? We need our CMO."

A rare, partial smile appeared on Dr. Brightman's face. "I'm supposed to be telling you that."

_Well whaddya know. She's human after all._ While Brightman was one of the best doctors in the world, Jack and everyone else still missed Janet Frasier immensely. The redhead had not just been Chief Medical Officer...she'd been a friend...a close friend. Jack had often wondered if the stiff, technical-minded Brightman had any emotions at all. Seeing even the smallest indication of happiness, sadness, or anger was comforting. "Thanks, Doc. Keep me updated."

Brightman nodded. "Yes, sir." Once again, she turned and left.

Once again, Jack was alone with his thoughts. He opened the cover of SG-4's mission report...and then turned to stare at the printer. _Wonder how hard one of these things is to fix...?_


	10. Chapter 10

"...as you can see, sir, the mineral survey of SG-7 indicates a large deposit of naquada over in the Northeast Sector," said Major Hartwig, using a laser pointer to indicate the spot on a large ariel photograph projected onto the small screen in the briefing room. "Given time, it has excellent potential as a mine."

Jack, while pretending to study the folder in front of him, was only half listening. His mind was still in the Infirmary with Sam, as was his heart. He unconsciously drummed his fingers on the table with impatience. Every briefing had just increased his aggravation, and once more he found himself glancing at his watch. _He's been prattling on about rocks for an hour._ "Anybody or anything around that a mine would annoy? Goa'uld? Unas? Native people?"

Major Hartwig's mouth twitched with amusement. "No, sir. No traces of civilization whatsoever. Not so much as a ruin."

_Come on, come on..._Jack forced his common sense to override his impatience. After this briefing was done, he was going to check on Sam. That, of course, did not negate his responsibility to his officers. "What about large predators? Lions, tigers, bears?"

"Oh, my," mumbled Colonel Shanks, who looked rather bored with the proceedings. He had a mouth on him but he never missed a shot...actually his personality was similar to Jack's, which was why he'd made him the leader of SG-13.

Lieutenant Jennifer Haley, the youngest member of SG-13, shook her head. "None that the thermal imaging cameras on the UAV could pick up. SG-7 didn't report any traces of large predators, either."

It sounded too easy. Jack let his folder close and he sighed. Experience told him to be cautious...then again, they could never have too much naquada. "All right, you're clear. But SG-16 goes with you. Watch each others' backs. If everything comes back all clear in 24 hours, you can start setting up for a mine."

The team seemed satisfied with this. Major Hartwig in particular was grinning. "Thank you, sir."

"Dismissed." Jack leapt up from his chair, taking the folder with him, and strode for the spiral staircase.

"General?" called a young feminine voice from behind. It was Lt. Haley.

"Lt. Haley?" Jack bit his lips with annoyance and looked again at his watch. "Something you forgot?"

"No, sir. I realize you're in a hurry, but I had to ask about Colonel Carter." The young blond grimaced. Sam had introduced her to the Stargate program in the first place. "How's she doing?"

Jack sighed and shrugged. "No change."

Lt. Haley nodded sadly. "Well, tell her everyone's pulling for her."

Jack's mouth threatened to twitch into a smile. _She's a good kid._ "I'll tell her." After saluting the young lady, he headed back toward the stairs.

_As soon as it has begun, it's over. The Ancient weapon has worked. The light around the chair fades, and Jack goes limp. Sam hurries over to him. "Sir?" Jack doesn't move. "Sir!" She puts her hand under his jaw, worry rising. He can't die...not now. "His pulse is erractic," she reports to Teal'c and Daniel. She turns back to Jack. "Don't you dare leave us now. We won." Nothing. Her hand moves to hold his lower jaw tightly. "Colonel!"_

_Jack's eyes are only half open. His jaw moves slowly, as if he's trying to speak but can't find the strength._

_Sam's heart breaks with each passing moment. Her throat closes. "Please...Jack..." _

_He says something that sounds similar to the Latin word for 'sleep', and Daniel mentions the hibernation device they saw earlier. Gently Teal'c gathers the lifeless Colonel in his arms and carries him over to the tall device. It looked far too much like a coffin. Jack stands there, almost held in by magnetism as the blue lights come on. Sg-1 looks on in sadness._

_"Now, what?" Sam wants to know. _

_"Aveo...ama cus..." breathes Jack. The others look at Daniel for a translation. Daniel's face is drawn as he stares at his friend, and translates 'goodbye'. The lights on the device brighten, and Jack in enclosed in what looks like ice._

_Sam's heart is crying out against this fate. It's not fair...he just saved the planet and the thanks he gets is lying in there forever? She blinks hard and protests this treatment. "We can't just leave him like this. There has to be a way to reverse the process...the answer has to be here somewhere."_

_But Daniel says there isn't...this place isn't Atlantis. It's too small to be a lost city. Where is it? No one has the answer._

_Blue eyes misting with emotion, Sam approaches the 'ice/glass' and presses her hand against it. All else fades away in that moment. The rest of the planet...her teammates...even Pete. _

_So it isn't just an attraction or emotional closeness Sam feels. For the first time, she realizes what she's been feeling for Jack for the past four years, as much as she's tried to deny it. The truth is crushing._

_She loves him...and she may never get to tell him..._

Jack was not surprised to see both Daniel and Teal'c sitting by Sam's beside when he entered the Infirmary, nor were they surprised to see him. The men were united in their concern for one they all cared about very deeply.

Daniel rose from the chair he'd been sitting in to give Jack a turn. "No change," he said unnecessarily. "She was dreaming a minute ago..."

Remembering what one of the dreams had done to her, Jack's head snapped around to check the heart monitor. His relief showed when he saw that it was 60 BPM. _Atta girl, Carter. Fight it._ He turned back to gaze on her. Something about her was different. But what was it? She was still asleep, but...

That was it. Her facial expression was different. Instead of the usual look she had while sleeping, Sam's face had scrunched into a slight grimace. She must have been feeling the pain, even in her sleep.

_ Aw, Sam..._Jack sighed heavily, staring at the clean white sheets. With everything in him he wished he could take her place. This feeling redoubled upon seeing some kind of moisture emerging from under Sam's eyelids and sliding down her cheeks.

"She's crying," Daniel said softly, his own voice close to breaking.

Jack closed his eyes at the confirmation and vigorously fought the sting in his own eyes, intensifying with every second he didn't shed tears. When his eyes opened, he sniffed and reached for Sam's hand. _Wake up, Sam. Wake up...I love you._


	11. Chapter 11

SLAM! The door to the men's restroom, carelessly shoved open, came around and hit Sgt. Siler smack in the nose, breaking his glasses. The man cried out and staggered backwards.

Jack felt simultaneously angry and guilty. "Ah, jeez! Siler, when you gonna quit standing on the wrong side of doors?" He picked up the broken pieces of the glasses and handed them to the man.

Siler acted as though he had almost gotten used to being hurt. He was unofficially the base klutz...well, it was a toss-up between him and Felger. At least Siler was the only one who was hurt when he made a mistake. "Sorry, sir." He pulled his hand away from his nose, unsurprised but annoyed to see blood.

The General cringed. "Get down to the Infirmary, will you?"

"Yes, sir." Siler pinched his nostrils shut and made his way down the hall.

Jack shook his head. _Pay attention, idiot,_ he berated himself as he made his way to the Commissary. It had been a long five days...the longest in Jack's life.

Despite being off the sedative for a good six days, Sam had still not awakened. Dr. Brightman was completely stumped as to the reason and tried everything to awaken her, from gentle shaking to smelling salts. Nothing worked. Worried, the doctor had ordered every brain and spinal scan known the mankind. They had turned up nothing. The almost constant dreaming continued without any explanation. The only good news to come out of the situation was that Sam's wounds were healing well.

Of course the doctor wasn't the only one to worry. Daniel and Teal'c saw her in shifts, never leaving her alone except when her bandages were changed. Half the base knew her, or at least knew of her. Questions about her condition were asked on a daily basis. Very few answers were given because there were very few to be had.

In that time the new printer had arrived in Jack's office, which was used the minute it was set up. After that, Jack's office was all but deserted. Mission reports once more began to pile up. Briefings were late, non-essential appointments cancelled. Between 70 and 80% of Jack's time was spent in the Infirmary with Sam. He couldn't explain it, but he felt he had to be there when she woke up...and despite the doubts of everyone else, including the doctor, Jack knew Sam was going to wake up. He had no reasons for his logic. He just knew.

Sam dreamed on, oblivious not only to her injuries but the concern generated on her behalf.

_Plunk! The impaled rubber nightcrawler sails through the air in a perfect arc before landing in the water of the small woodland pond with a tiny splash. It is followed by a series of lead sinkers and a red-and-white float. Slowly the lot of it is reeled in with a characteristic rattle-ring sound._

_Fishing...on paper it didn't sound all that relaxing, but as Sam sits casually on her folding chair on the end of the short dock in Northern Minnesota next to her superior officer, she realizes that this is all she's ever wanted...not necessarily the fishing part, but coming to this place with Jack, giving in to his years of begging. A vacation is just what she needs after the death of her father, the eradication of a galactic threat, and the end of her ill-fated relationship with Pete Shanahan._

_"This is great," she says softly._

_"I told you," says Jack without any of the usual sarcasm or smugness. He sounds as relaxed as she is. _

_"We should have done this years ago."_

_"Yes, well...let's not dwell." _

_A large rainbow trout leaps into the air about a hundred yards away, making both of them flinch and jump._

_Sam blinks, worried for a minute. "I thought you said there were no fish in your pond."_

_Jack has no such worries. What matters to him is that he is finally sitting here in a place that he loves with the woman he loves. "Close enough," he shrugs. _

_Sam manages smile. Whether or not fish live in a pond probably won't destroy the space-time continuum. She turns back to her fishing pole and begins reeling it in. Between the quiet, the scenery, the fresh air, and the fact she is sharing a cabin with a man she loves, it's almost perfect. The only thing that would make it perfect is if they were alone...but that can't happen. Jack is still her superior officer. It's still inappropriate._

_Teal'c and Daniel round the corner with a large green cooler hanging between them. Sam pushes aside her thoughts and decides just to enjoy the next three days..._

Jack saw Sam smiling in her sleep and wondered, once again, what she was dreaming about. It must have been a good dream this time. He noticed how even her heart rate was and relaxed. If Daniel was not due to return from lunch at any minute, Jack would have leaned over and kissed Sam's cheek.

If he'd just turn in those darned resignation papers, he'd be able to. They sat in his hands, neat and tidy and ready to go in an addressed manila envelope. No one knew his plans. Frankly, it was none of their business.

"How's she doing?" Daniel, as if on cue, rounded the corner, hands in his pockets.

"No change," mumbled Jack. He stared at his hands.

"What's with the envelope?" Daniel wanted to know.

Jack cringed, but figured he did look kind of strange sitting in the Infirmary with a large, very conspicuous envelope in his hands. "Oh. That." He set it down on Sam's bedside table. Maybe if he distanced himself from it enough...

Daniel, curious, craned his neck and squinted. "'U.S. Air Force, Pentagon. Washington D.C'," he read, frowning. "Must be pretty important."

Jack sighed and stared at the floor. He was tired of making excuses, and Daniel knew how he felt anyway. "It's my resignation."

Daniel pulled his hands out of his pockets as a set of sandy eyebrows shot up. "Really. You're...you're resigning...?"

Jack shrugged.

"As in, leaving the Stargate program?"

"The Air Force."

"Wow. Why?"

Jack said nothing but turned to look at Sam.

Daniel's shoulders fell in understanding and he nodded. "I see." _He's leaving everything for her? He does love her._ He turned the idea over in his mind for some time and found it didn't disturb him as much as he thought. "When are you leaving?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know...I'm not even sure yet that I will," he admitted.

The archeologist glanced at the envelope. "Well, you went to all the trouble of typing up the resignation and printing it out." His eyebrows knit and he crossed his arms. "Why aren't you sure?"

Jack's fingers steepled, interlaced, and fell limp before he spoke. "It's a lot to think about. Besides...I want to talk to her about it...make sure she's OK with it."

Daniel sighed with frustration. "Jack, you don't need her permission. It's not as if you're married."

"I know. But c'mon...if she's the reason, there's no point in leaving if she...doesn't...feel the same..."

"You're not sure?"

Wordlessly Jack shook his head. "I'm gonna wait 'till she wakes up."

A painful thought made Daniel grimace. "What if she doesn't?"

_You had to mention that, didn't you? _Jack turned to Daniel and glared. "She will." His voice faded as he returned his gaze to Sam. "She will..."


	12. Chapter 12

Long after Daniel had left and Teal'c had come and gone, Jack sat awkwardly by Sam's bed, playing with the stack of papers in his hand. To turn in or not to turn in? It felt like such an impulsive, contrived decision to his stoic military side. Leaving the most amazing job in the galaxy to fulfill inappropriate feelings he had for a woman under his command?

_No,_ he argued. _For the woman I love._ And did she return those feelings? Jack was fairly sure she did. All those awkward pauses, stolen glances, blushing, and unfinished sentences...sentences saying exactly how she felt, that he had cut off to keep her from jeopardizing her career. She was, and always had been 100 times more important to the galaxy at large than he was.

Sam or the Air Force? It should have been the easiest decision in the world...but it wasn't. The fact that Sam was still in an unexplained coma didn't help any. She should have awakened long before then.

As if cued in by Jack's thoughts, Sam's expression suddenly changed. Her eyebrows knit and she suddenly took in a sharp breath, as if she was in pain.

Jack grimaced, half wishing Sam could keep sleeping until she was healed so she wouldn't be in pain...but then it would take even longer for her to recover.

Sam gave a muffle wince, then sighed. Her eyes began to flutter.

Jack sat up a little straighter and took her hand again. "Sam?" he whispered, almost as if he was afraid someone would hear him.

Sam settled down, her muscles relaxing and her head turning, as if she was going to go back to sleep.

Jack pursed his lips in disappointment. "C'mon, Carter. Wake up," he muttered.

Sam's brows knit again. She recognized the voice. Slowly, as if they'd been glued in place, her eyes opened about halfway. Bleary, tired, pain-filled blue eyes scanned left and right, searching. Her lips moved, unsure whether she could form Jack's name or not. "J...s-sir...?' she finally said in a ghost of a whisper.

Hope rose in Jack, and he gave her hand a light squeeze. "Right here."

Slowly Sam turned her head to the right, where Jack was sitting. Her eyes brightened in recognition. "S...sir," she rasped, slowly licking her cracked lips. A slight smile rose on her face. "It's you. It's always you."

Jack, while secretly delighted she recognized him, decided to make a joke out of it. "Yeah. Sorry you couldn't wake up to something better looking," he cracked, offering the slightest smile in return. He was rewarded with another smile from Sam.

Sam didn't just smile. She laughed, as much as she could with what little energy she had. But soon her laughter dissolved into a hoarse cry, and her eyes closed.

Jack's own smile vanished, and he pressed his lips together. "How you feeling?"

Sam sighed, letting out the air slowly. _Miserable._ She grimaced. "Do I have to answer, sir?"

Jack shook his head, not only answering no but trying to shake off the sadness he felt at hearing Sam call him 'sir'. "No. I'm betting you feel pretty rotten. Hang on a sec, I'll get the doc in here. 'Kay?"

Sam unexpectedly clung to his hand. "Jack-" Her face burned with embarrassment and she closed her eyes. "Sir..."

Jack's heart softened and he managed the smallest smile. She wanted to call him by his name, but was still afraid to. "I'm coming back."

Only then did the Lt. Colonel let go. "Thank you."

_Hang in there, Samantha. Wake up a little more so I can talk to you._ Jack, with great reluctance, marched off to find Dr. Brightman.

Sam's first exam upon awakening was anything but pleasant. Everything hurt, everything was stiff, and her stomach was growling. Unfortunately it would be another week before she could put anything in her stomach other than water, thanks to the perforated bowel. She would be fed intravenously until then.

Then came the details of her condition. Her shoulder was healing nicely and she should be able to start moving it soon...but her abdomen was another story. The perforated bowel was just an annoyance...the missing ovary was somehow saddening, but she could deal with it...the torn abdominal wall was of more concern. The news that walking again was going to take weeks was hard to take. Sam had never been one to stay down for long.

Teal'c and Daniel, upon hearing Sam was awake, both came in to see her and speak with her for a while. Sam was, of course, very happy to see them, but still tired. She was asleep again in hours.

Jack was back in to visit with her the next day. Already Sam was looking better. Her color had returned, she'd had some water, and she was propped up on two pillows. They were alone. Not even a nurse was around to interrupt.

The problem was, Jack had no idea what to say or how to say it. He still had the stack of papers in his hand and had made up his mind what to do with them.

"Another crossword puzzle?" questioned Sam with a slight smile.

"Huh? Oh...no, not..." Jack sighed, staring at the thick sheaf. _Oh, just tell her! The H- with the regs!_ "Uh...it's my formal resignation," he admitted.

"What?" asked Sam, rising a bit from her pillows. "Why?"

_You, that's why._ Knowing Sam would never accept such a simple answer, he hemmed and hawed. "Well, y'know, this bigwig stuff just isn't for me. It was fun while it lasted, but...what really killed me was the paperwork." He grimaced and shook his head. "Ink stains...printer jams...paper cuts..."

Sam laughed for a minute, then sighed. She knew he wasn't leaving because of the paper cuts. "Sir-"

"And don't say I could just join SG1 again," interrupted Jack. "Don't get me wrong...you guys...Danny and T...you're...close...like..." he motioned with his arms.

"Family," put in Sam, smiling wistfully.

"Yeah. "Jack looked down for a moment, keeping back thoughts of another kind of family. "But these old knees of mine just can't take any more runnin' around. So, I figured...saving the planet a couple dozen times...it's nothin' to sneeze at."

"No, Sir." Sam shook her head, staring at her feet under the covers. She looked up. "You're sure? You're really leaving?"

Jack nodded slowly. "Yeah. I'm too old for this stuff. Time to let the spring chickens take over."

Sam frowned. "Come on, Sir. You're not old."

Jack just shrugged.

Sam looked away, thinking of what it would mean not having him around anymore. Her throat closed and her eyes grew unaccountably misty. "When are you leaving?"

_Aw, crap. I made her cry. I better straighten this out..._ Jack studied his hands. "Carter-" he stopped. He wasn't going to get her attention if he acted like it was business as usual. Jack reached for her hand. "Sam," he said softly. "Look at me."

Sam lifted her head, tears beginning to stain her cheeks.

Looking deep into Samantha Carter's eyes, Jack O'Neill spoke softly. "There's another reason why..."

Sam closed her eyes and shook her head. She knew what he was trying to say, and she didn't like it...frankly, she didn't feel worthy of such drastic measures. "Please, don't...don't leave because of me. The Stargate program needs you."

Jack shook his head. "Hey...I'm ready to retire anyway. You..." Here he studied their hands again and wrapped his other hand around hers, smiling just a bit. "You're part of it. If you don't want to..." he motioned awkwardly between them. "...start anything...just stay friends...that's OK. It's up to you."

The tiniest bit of hope and eagerness finally dawned in Sam's face. She lifted her head, still wondering if she could believe it. "You're serious?"

Jack cracked a smile. "Hard to believe?" The smile faded and he nodded. "Yeah."

_Oh, my God..._Sam's eyes widened. Still she couldn't believe it. "Jack...?" she tried, experimentally.

Another smile, this one wider. "Yeah," he said again. "What? Yes, I'm serious!" he chuckled. When Sam continued to gape, he sighed, reaching out to her. "Maybe this'll convince you." Slowly the General leaned closer.

Sam's eyes were still wide. She knew what he was doing. On one hand she was frightened...on the other, she was ready to throw all her reservations out the window. She tried leaning in herself, but a sharp pain in her side prevented her, and she winced.

Jack frowned. "Shh. Easy. It's OK. I'll come to you." And he did, leaning in and reaching to take her cheek in his hand. And then, without any pretense, he tilted his head to the side.

Sam was wide awake now. _Every nerve began screaming yes, yes, yes, this is what I want! This is what I've wanted for years...all I've ever wanted._ Sam suddenly felt as if she was going to have her first kiss...giddy and scared and hormonally charged, like she was 15 again.

Then their lips met, and everything else faded away.

Jack's mind gave a victory whoop while his body just savored the moment. His main concern was, however, not the intense charge the kiss gave him, but the state of his very sore, very fragile Lt. Colonel who had just awakened from a seven day coma. So, the kiss was gentle and short. He pulled back and gazed at her in contentment.

Sam's head was spinning. _Holy Hannah, did that just happen?_ The perfect look of contentment on Jack's face and the tingling of her lips confirmed it. _I just kissed my CO! No alien disease, no dreams, and no alternate realities. It was a real honest-to-goodness kiss._ A brief feeling of fear and panic rose, but was quickly stifled. There was nothing wrong. The only thing wrong about it was that the kiss was way too short. _Oh, the h- with it!_ And so, with a watery smile, she lifted her good arm and pulled Jack back to her, kissing him long and hard.

Jack was surprised at the intensity of the kiss, especially given Sam's condition. He held her face in his hands, but was still gentle, and let her take the reins, as it were. But finally, when she started to wince, he pulled back, eyes wide, feeling rather breathless. "Where'd that come from?"

Sam, suddenly bashful, gave a slight smile as she against the pillows. "Catching up on five years."

Jack gave a wistful smile, pulling back a bit. "Yeah, well...easy, OK?" He motioned to the resignation. "I haven't exactly turned this in yet."

Sam's military side returned for a moment and she was aghast. "Oh, God! Sorry."

"No, don't...it's OK." He leaned in to give a conspirital whisper. "Just don't get caught."

"Please don't joke," begged Sam, trying not to laugh. "It hurts."

"Don't want that," agreed Jack. He let both hands fall away from her face and pick up the stack of papers and shove them back into the manila envelope. "Be right back...I got something I gotta mail."

Sam nodded, still blushing and feeling very tired. "Good idea." She watched the man go, marveling at him. But she couldn't let him go without telling him. "Wait...Jack?"

Jack paused at the doorway, turning around. He loved hearing her say his name. "Yeah?"

Sam moistened her lips. "There's something I...I've been wanting to...to tell you..."

Jack came back to sit next to her. "Sure. What?"

"I...I...I...well, how I feel...it's...I-" Sam frowned in frustration. Why is it she only got tongue tied speaking these three simple words to Jack. She groaned and looked away. "Ugh! Why is this so hard?"

"Sam?" Jack raised his eyebrows.

"I mean I can spout out how to build a naquada reactor..."

"Sam..."

"...or wormhole physics, but when it comes to saying three short words-"

"Sam," said Jack , turning her face back and looking her in the eye. "I know. I love you, too."

Sam's next smile was watery, but it didn't last long because Jack was kissing her again.

The two of them were so lost in each other, neither of them heard Daniel and Teal'c coming into the room.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Just a short one. The very last chapter is coming up next. Thanks for your patience!**

Teal'c and Daniel paused at the doorway, trying to process what they were seeing.

Daniel in particular was flabbergasted. He'd known Jack was impulsive, but this...this was a bit much. "What the...?" he glanced at Teal'c. The doorway was just out of earshot.

The big Jaffa said nothing, but broke out in a large, happy smile. "It appears Colonel Carter is feeling much better."

"Eee-yeah..." Daniel's eyes were about to bug out. While he was happy that Jack had finally plucked up the courage and taken that step on declaring his intent, questions remained. Did he turn in the resignation yet? If Sam and Jack were caught by an officer, one or both of them could be court-martialed. His smile was guarded as he walked into the room and cleared his throat.

Jack and Sam both flinched as if they'd been shot and turned to look and see who was there. They parted slowly.

"Uh...ssss-sorry, are we interrupting anything?" he asked awkwardly.

Sam shrank back, leaning against the pillows and blushing like a stoplight.

Jack just sat there. "Ya think?" he said, only a little irked.

Daniel pushed away his look of amusement and tried to look serious. "Not...that it's any of my business, but...did the, uh...regulations change?" he asked innocently. "Or, did you, uh..."

Jack frowned and held up the manila envelope. "I'm gonna mail them in five minutes."

"Oh." Daniel's eyes widened. "Never mind." Only then did he break into a smile and clear his throat. "So, Sam...how you feeling?"

"Better. Thanks." Sam, still blushing, glanced at her friend.

"Yes...yes, I think so." Daniel's smile was amused.

"It is indeed a great relief to see you feeling like yourself, Samantha Carter," added Teal'c, who was still all smiles.

"Getting there," Sam shifted and winced. "I don't think I'm going to be building any reactors any time soon."

As if on cue, Dr. Brightman marched in, accompanied by a pair of nurses and a tray of bandages. She surveyed the group with a satisfied look. "Well...Colonel Carter, you certainly have a lot of friends. How are you feeling?"

Sam fought back the furious blush. "Much better. Thanks."

The doctor nodded, briskly checking the monitors and taking notes. Satisfied, she rolled the cart over. "Well, much as I hate to be the bearer of bad news, it is time to change your bandages."

Sam grimaced. _Not again._

Dr. Brightman turned to the others. "Sorry, Gentleman, but you'll have to leave for a moment."

Daniel, Teal'c, and Jack all nodded and left, wishing Sam well. Jack was the last out the door, muttering about paperwork, but pausing to look back at her. "Bye, Sam."

Changing the bandages was made less painful by thinking of Jack and what was happening between them. Sam therefore didn't stop thinking about him the whole time. She couldn't have stopped if she'd tried.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Finally, it's done! Thank you all so much for your reviews! If I get enough input I might be persuaded to write an epilogue. ;) Enjoy!**

Jack's resignation took about two weeks to process. Another brigadier general fresh out of the Pentagon took over on a temporary basis until a new CO could be officially appointed. Jack found it funny that Hammond was the one to process the request.

Sam's recovery took far longer. The day after she awoke, Brightman had her stretching her muscles on the walkway. It was a long, slow, painful process, especially since she still couldn't put any weight on her left shoulder. But, whenever she felt like quitting because it hurt too much, Jack would be there with encouragement. Daniel and Teal'c never lost sight of her, either.

Eating was a whole other challenge. The shortened colon made for easy abdominal upset, and so for two weeks Sam lived on rice, pudding, broth, and jello. It amused her to no end that Jack was always the one to bring her the blue jello. Often the two of them shared a dish. They would not kiss again until Jack's resignation was made official, but Jack still snuck in little pecks on the cheek. Neither of them could keep from smiling while around the other.

Having known each other for nine years, they were already comfortable around each other and knew one another so well they could practically read each other's minds. The question was how they'd go on seeing each other when Jack was gone and Sam was still working there. In the two weeks between the processing of his resignation and Sam's release, she nearly went crazy with loneliness.

Then the day had finally come. Sam was allowed to go home and continue recovering there. She was surprised and delighted when, upon reaching the parking lot in preparation for calling a cab- since she wasn't cleared to drive until her shoulder had healed -she saw Jack waiting for her with his black truck. She didn't even have time to call him name before he had reached her and given her a kiss.

"Jack, what are you doing here?" asked Sam when she could breathe again.

"Figured you'd need a ride," shrugged the former General. Like a perfect gentleman he took her bag from the surprised Airman who had carried it for Sam and led her slowly to the truck.

Sam smiled as she limped alongside him. "Thank you. That's really sweet." She continued smiling when Jack opened the door for her and helped her into the passenger seat.

Jack raised an eyebrow as he buckled and put the key in the ignition. "Sweet?" He'd never seen himself as sweet.

"I mean it's nice," Sam amended. "I've never seen you be such a gentleman."

"Well, you know as independent as you are, I thought you'd start complaining about it."

"Not this time."

Jack grinned and pulled out of the lot.

The route that Jack took was unfamiliar to Sam, but she wasn't worried. It wasn't until they'd gone some ten miles past the turn into her neighborhood before she realized he was not taking her home.

Sam was suddenly nervous. "Uh...Jack? Where are we going?"

Jack glanced at her. "You trust me?"

"Of course, but-"

"Then close your eyes."

Sam frowned.

Jack smiled. "Just...trust me."

Sam's stomach lurched. The last time a man had told her to 'close her eyes, it's a surprise', Pete had put a down payment on a house...which was the beginning of the end of their relationship. "Jack-"

"It's OK." He gave her a slight smile. "C'mon. For me."

Sam sighed, but managed a smile as she closed her eyes. For Jack, she would do anything. And for the next fifteen minutes, she had no idea where they were going.

When they pulled in to the mystery location, she caught a very distinctive smell. She had smelled it before...but it wasn't home. Still walking with a cane and keeping her arm close in a sling, she let Jack help her up a set of wooden stairs. "Jack, you know I don't like surprises," she sighed, still obediently closing her eyes.

"Humor me. Just once." Jack finally stopped. "OK. Go ahead."

Sam opened her eyes to see...Jack's back deck. On it was a card table, two chairs, and a setting of bread, cheese, and grapes in rustic dishes on a red checked tablecloth. Her eyebrows raised in surprise. "What is this?" she asked, laughing a little.

Jack smiled and pulled out her chair for her. "Lunch. I figured you'd be sick of that hospital food. Don't worry," he added. "It's all been cleared by the doc."

Sam smiled, but was still suspicious as Jack helped her sit down. "What's the occasion?"

Jack shrugged easily, though he looked a little nervous. "What, you finally being able to go home isn't enough reason?"

Sam looked down for a minute, then shook her head. _Come on, Carter. He's not Pete. You can count on him. _"Thanks. I am pretty hungry."

Jack's bright smile returned as he took his own seat and motioned to the table. "Please. Help yourself."

Sam smiled back as she surveyed the tasty lunch. It was just as good as it looked. Never one for formalities, Jack made a cheese sandwich. It looked so good that Sam made one, too. The conversation was mostly Jack making his usual deadpan remarks and Sam laughing without inhibition.

Then came the awkward silence after lunch. After a minute Jack cleared his throat. "Sam...you know, we've known each other for...what, nine years?"

Sam nodded, smiling. "Remember what I told you when we first met?"

Jack smiled back. "Yes, actually. You said I'd learn to like you...and of course being the witty fellow I am, I replied with something like 'Oh, I adore you already.'" He grinned. "I did, you know."

Sam's eyes widened. "Already? Even though you were going to be my CO and that kind of relationship was against the regs?"  
"Well...you were definitely the prettiest Captain I'd ever seen."

"Jack!" Sam laughed, then exclaimed. "This is so ridiculous! I mean, all this time we were totally petrified of what would happen if we pursued a relationship, and now..."

Jack shrugged. "Yes, well...let's not dwell." He played with a single grape left on his plate for a minute before clearing his throat. "You know, speaking of relationships..." and then his voice drifted off and he appeared deep in thought. "You are the only one I can see myself with," he said very matter-of-factly.

Sam nodded, reaching for his hand. "Same here."

Jack raised his brows. "Oh. Good. So...since we agree on this, what about making it permanent...ish."

Sam thought Jack was joking, so she laughed. "Permanent-ish?"

"Yes. As in a forever sense," said Jack, spreading his hands for emphasis.

"You're talking about a commitment?" Sam asked, her smile full of amusement.

"Ah...yes. That is the word I was looking for."

"OK." She certainly wouldn't mind. Jack was the only one she could see herself spending the rest of her life with. "Yeah."

Jack gave a brief smile, then grew serious. "Sam, I want to ask you a question. Would you be opposed to..." he cleared his throat. "...making that sort of a lifetime commitment...official?"

Sam's heart stopped. _Oh, he is not...he can't be! _Sam blinked, then flinched. "Wait...are you..." she coughed. "Proposing?"

Jack looked skyward, then shook his head. "No..." And then he dropped down on one knee, looking up at her. "_Now_ I'm proposing."

Sam's jaw dropped. _Oh my God! How can this be happening? He's not...but he is_! She covered her mouth and unexpectedly felt tears coming to her eyes.

Jack sighed, as if gathering strength. "Samantha Carter...you are the most amazing, strong, intelligent, beautiful woman I know. I know, by comparison, I'm a bit of a dolt."

"Jack..." Sam shook her head and laughed. Only Jack could make a proposal simultaneously honest, romantic, and self-deprecating.

"OK. I'm an idiot."

"You're not-"

"No wait, just...hear me out. It might seem sudden, but hey. We've been putting this off long enough." He reached into his pocket to pull something out...and it was stuck. He pulled again...nothing. Jack groaned. "Aw, for cryin' out loud!"

"Jack," Sam was laughing and crying at the same time, loving the man every passing moment. "I get it. Yes."

Jack held up a finger, though he was grinning. "Wait, wait...just one second...I wanna do this right-"

"Jack!" cried Sam, taking his stubbled, loveable face in her hands. "Yes!"

"Wait- what?" Jack looked up, disoriented. His eyes widened. "Oh! Really?" he asked softly, taking her hand.

Sam's answer was to bring him close for a kiss. After a long while, they pulled back. "Is that clear enough?"

Jack was smiling. "As a tall friend of ours likes to say, indeed." And he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into another kiss. Somehow he managed to fish the box out of his pocket and put the ring on her finger. Instead of the traditional diamond, it was a blue sapphire set in gold. The deal was further sealed with a long, slow, passionate kiss.

"Sam?" Jack mumbled into her lips after a while.

"Mmm?"

"Can I get up now?" he pulled back and grimaced. "My knees are killin' me."

Sam pulled back, flinching. "Oh! I'm sorry," she said watching Jack shuffle to his seat, testing his knees with a wince. He pulled his chair next to hers and wrapped his arms around her..gently, so as not to bother shoulder or side. After a pause, she glanced awkwardly toward the house. "Jack...when you said 'home', whose home did you mean?"

Jack coughed at the awkward turn this conversation had taken, then looked innocent. "Yours...?"

Sam's smile was full of a blush. "You planning on staying?"

Jack looked for a moment like he was about to be tortured. "Hey!" he sighed and softened. "No. You're still healing. You need your rest." He gave her a soft kiss on the cheek.

Sam sighed, but nodded. As eager as she was to start her relationship with Jack in all areas, he had a point. There was nothing romantic about being physical with a side and shoulder that hurt like blazes. "We better get going."

"Whenever you're ready," Jack smiled.

Cleaning up the picnic didn't take long, and soon Jack was driving Sam back to her place. He helped her carry the bag in, then stood awkwardly on the doorstep. "Need anything? Dinner? Laundry? Jigsaw puzzle?"

Sam chuckled. "I'm fine. Thank you for the ride."

Jack's smile was sweet. "Anytime." He brought her into another kiss.

The kiss left Sam aching for more. "You sure you don't want to come in for coffee or something?"

The man grimaced. "Don't tempt me. But no. You rest. Doctor's orders."

Sam found herself yawning. "I am tired. So...see you-" she stopped. With Jack it had always been 'see you tomorrow' or 'see you next week. Now...

Jack smiled. "I'll call you." He left her with another kiss.

Sam clung to him, as if she'd never let go. She drank in the smell of his cologne and the musky scent that was Jack. "I love you."

He held her so gently, as if she was made of glass. "Love you, too." He pulled back slowly and backed up. "Anytime you need something...just call."

Sam nodded. "I will. Bye, Jack."

Jack smiled the most contented smile a man could. "Bye, Sam." His heart full of happiness and his mind full of ideas about their future together, he turned around and walked back to his truck. He found himself reflecting on the past month as he got in and started the engine. Sometimes you couldn't have it all...sometimes you had to choose between what was most important.

He'd made his choice. He had no regrets. How could he, when the most beautiful, most intelligent woman in the galaxy had agreed to marry him? Jack sighed, glanced at Sam's front door, and wished Sam an easy afternoon before buckling his seatbelt and driving off. He did regret for a moment that he had not followed her inside as she had wished...but as he had said, she was still healing.

Besides, they had the rest of their lives for that.


	15. Epilogue

**A/N: As requested, here is an epilogue to the story. Thank you all so much for reading! Please be sure and check out some of my other stories. :) And stay tuned! There's a sequel in the works, but no guarantees as to when it will be posted.**

_*Six months later*_

The day was warm and clear, without a single cloud to be seen in the skies above the grassy meadow outside Colorado Springs. A cool summer breeze rippled the white canvas shade tents above the rows of folding white chairs and the pale blue ribbons tied to the backs. Thirty-eight men and women in semi-formal wear sat with a mixture of smiles, tears, and impatience. Some were civilians, but most were Air Force officer in their dress blues. Four men with classical guitars strummed a quiet rendition of 'Let it Be' while the musicians looked a little restless. Even the justice of the peace, who was standing with a small binder containing his notes, found himself getting impatient.

Jack O'Neill shifted about uncomfortably in his gray suit, glancing at his wristwatch and feeling his stomach twist with nerves._ C'mon, Sam...any day now._ He shifted his weight from side to side, eyes darting about. Then he checked his watch again.

"You know, staring at your watch isn't going to make her hurry up," mumbled Daniel Jackson, leaning in from Jack's right shoulder with a look of amusement.

Jack turned to his friend and frowned at him. "I wasn't."

Daniel fought the smile rising on his face. "Jack, it's OK to be nervous."

"I'm not nervous," hissed Jack in defense. He checked his watch once more, then glanced at Daniel again. "You did remember the ring, right?"

Calmly the archeologist turned best man held up the small wedding band. "Relax. Enjoy the moment."

Jack tugged at his collar. "Kinda hard to relax when you're wearing a shirt you can hardly breathe in." He noticed Teal'c, sitting in the front row with one of his favorite fedoras hiding the gold emblem on his head, looked amused.

Finally the guitarists stopped playing and switched to a different piece. A young girl in a white dress and blue sash walked down the makeshift aisle carrying a basket of flower petals and smiling sweetly. It was Lisa, Sam's eight year old niece. She was followed by nineteen year old Cassandra Fraiser. Jack smiled upon seeing the girls and didn't miss how excited Cassie looked. He then straightened his spine upon hearing the guitarists change songs once again. The audience stood and eagerly looked for the bride.

And there was Samantha Carter, led in on the arm of General George Hammond. With her father gone, Sam had asked General Hammond to give her away. He'd said he'd be honored, and he certainly looked honored as he led her in. Sam was simply but elegantly attired in a simple- knee-length white dress, her short blonde hair done up with small blue and white flowers to match the ones in her bouquet. Her blue eyes were misty but her smile wouldn't stop.

For Jack, time seemed to slow down as he watched her come down the aisle. He was struck anew by her beauty and couldn't take his eyes off her. Finally he was able to take her hands and stand to face her. "You're late," he whispered softly in her ear, still smiling. Sam's response was to lightly jab him on the arm with her elbow.

The justice of the peace sighed in relief and opened his binder. "All right, then. Let's get this show on the road." He cleared his throat and began to read.

As the age-old rites of marriage were performed, time seemed to stand still. Jack gazed on Sam, taking in every detail and engraving it in his memory. So engrossed was he in staring at the woman who would soon be his wife that he didn't hear when the justice of the peace asked for the ring. Only when Sam's smile faded and she cleared her throat did he notice anything was amiss. "Uh...sorry?"

The Justice of the peace rolled his eyes with both annoyance and humor. "The ring. Do you have the ring?"

"Oh!" _Nice going, idiot. You almost botched your own wedding._ Quickly he retrieved the band from Daniel, who looked like he was holding back a laugh. "Right here."

Sam closed her eyes and laughed a little at his nerves as Jack gathered his composure. If she wasn't so completely contented and happy, she would have been just as nervous. Sam was just a little edgy, but joy far outweighed any negative feelings. Unlike the mistake she had nearly made with Pete, this felt real. It felt...right. She gave Jack a ring in return and found her voice wavering a little with emotion as they exchanged vows.

And then came the moment they'd been waiting for all day. "By the power vested in me by the State of Colorado, I now declare you husband and wife. You can kiss her now."

Neither Jack nor Sam had to be told twice. Taking each other in their arms, they exchanged the longest kiss they thought they could get away with. Polite applause from the onlookers was broken only by a few loud whistles and cheers. As the exit music was played, the beaming couple walked back down the aisle, arm in arm.

Once out of sight of the others Jack pulled Sam behind one of the trees, grinning like a schoolboy. "Hey, there's uh...something I still haven't told you. Remember during that time loop fiasco?" When Sam nodded, Jack put on a look of slight embarrassment. "Well..."

Sam's eyes widened. She remembered the way he'd been staring and smiling at her during the last loop. "What did you do?"

Jack shrugged. "Oh, I handed in a resignation."

"You did? Why?"

"So I could do...this." And without warning Jack wrapped his arms around Sam's waist and kissed her, bringing her down into a classic dip.

When Sam could catch her breath, she laughed. "Is that why you kept staring at me with that silly grin on your face?"

Jack nodded. "Pretty much. My only regret was that you didn't remember."

She smiled. "Well, I'll remember this one. Forever."

Jack brushed Sam's blond hair away from her face and kissed her again. Forever sounded just perfect.

THE END


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